M. LACROSSE

Gillespie Named Men's Lacrosse Freshman of the Year; One of Nine on All-Conference Teams

April 20, 2012

HIGH POINT, N.C. - Conference Carolinas All-Conference Men's Lacrosse Teams were determined by vote from each head coach of participating institutions. Luke Gillespie was named Freshman of the Year as one of nine players to represent Pfeiffer University. Nominations are collected and then voted upon by ballot and tallied to determine First Team, Second Team, Third Team, Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coach of the Year award winners. Awards will be presented at the Conference Tournament Championships hosted by Queens University of Charlotte at this weekend's conference championship. This year's award winners are as follows:

Player of the Year: Jake Ternosky – Limestone CollegeLimestone junior Jake Ternosky lead Conference Carolinas in face-off percentage at .826, taking 62 of 75 attempts within conference games, while also leading the league among field position players with 32 ground balls in five conference contests. Failing to win possession only 13 times, 18 of Ternosky’s controls led to Limestone goals on those immediate offensive possessions in which the Saints maintained the ball. His efforts lead the nationally No. 4 ranked Saints to the Conference regular season title for the fourth consecutive season with a perfect 5-0 mark and 12-1 overall. On the season Ternosky ranks No. 2 nationally in NCAA Division II men’s lacrosse in face-off win percentage at .700 (159-of-227) while muscling his way to 68 ground balls.

Freshman of the Year: Luke Gillespie– Pfeiffer UniversityLuke Gillespie anchored the Falcons defense that allowed a slim 5.83 goals against average in 2012. Gillespie registered six goals with four assists totaling 10 points on defense while amassing a team-high 60 groundballs. The freshman also contributed to the Falcons and their man-down defense which ranked fifth-best nationwide to help them to a 10-5 overall mark and 4-1 league record.

Coach of the Year:Chris Barrett – Belmont Abbey CollegeChris Barrett was named the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year in his first year as a head coach for the Crusaders. With his selection, all three of the Abbey’s men’s lacrosse coaches in its history have been named Coach of the Year in their first year on the Crusader sideline. Barrett guided an offense that saw five players score at least ten goals, one short of a program-high, while seven players registered double digit points, which is just one shy of the school record to lead the Abby to a 2-3 league mark and 5-8 overall record.